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 Charles Morgan’s successful businesses are cut from the same cloth, discovers Leah Williamson Rags to richesSeptember 2008 See this article as it appears in the magazine  WHEN it comes to a local, family business it is one of the best known names in the Highlands. Today, Charles Morgan is creating a new legacy with his countryside emporium, House of Beauly.To an outsider, it would seem a world apart from the fashion boutique opened by his father in Inverness in 1953, Charles Morgan Fashion Specialists. But the fundamental principle of excellence was something Charles learned working in his parents’ shop as a youngster and one he has carried all through his career. With such a backdrop it should be no surprise that he followed in his parents’ footsteps. “I was born with a coat hanger in my hand!” he laughed. “I grew up in this environment and I knew from a fairly early stage that I was suited to the rag trade.” Born in Nairnside, Charles moved to Inverness as a youngster, attending the town’s Crown Primary School before enrolling at George Watson boarding school in Edinburgh. He still has his maroon blazer to this day and remembers the school with great affection despite its disciplined and competitive environment. The school had a renowned reputation for producing lawyers and sportsmen with former pupils including ex-Scotland rugby captain, Gavin Hastings and ex-British Lion, David Johnston. A keen sportsman himself, Charles played rugby, squash and was captain of the school swimming team. However, it was a career in retail that beckoned. “In the holidays I would help mum and dad in the shop. I’d be given a magnet and told to go around the floor picking up all the pins the girls had dropped when they’d finished dressing the window. “The local boys always managed to walk past the shop when I was standing in the window with a dress or hat in my hand! “I knew as I came to the last six months of school that this was the business I was born for.” Experience But despite his experience in the retail trade and a public school education, when Charles left school at 18 no retailer was willing to take him on. He tried the Navy for a period but found the disciplined lifestyle was too much like being back at school. He then managed to secure a holiday job at Craig Dunain Hospital in Inverness which, before he knew it, had turned into 10 months. “There are a lot of stories about Craig Dunain but it was a really wonderful place to work. It gave you a real insight into human nature and it was a place that genuinely provided care for people who really weren’t very well at all.” Charles finally got the break he was looking for, with retail giant Marks & Spencer at its store in the bustling city of Birmingham. “Although I’d gone to school in Edinburgh it was still a massive culture shock. I remember turning up on my first day dressed up to the nines in my suit waiting for the store to open at 8am. “My boss, Pat Morris, was a real character. He met me that day and told me to clean the toilets, to take a knife and scrape round the foot of the bowl to make sure it was cleaned properly. “Here I was in my suit and I was told to clean toilets – I couldn’t believe it. But I did it and I’m still a great loo cleaner to this day! “When I’d finished he said I’d done what I’d been told and would make a good manager. I didn’t realise at the time it was a test.” After Birmingham, Charles was moved to London and the M&S stores in Baker Street, Marble Arch, Catford and Brixton. It was the late 70s, early 80s and a period of social unrest in the UK with the National Front protests and Brixton riots. Charles remembers marches taking place right outside the shop front. But his experiences of social and political upheaval were going to come sharply into focus in the months ahead. Belfast He had been posted to Aberdeen, originally for a year, but after just four months he was asked if he would manage the company’s store in Belfast. The troubles were in full flow but for many it was a case of business as usual. Despite everything that was going on, the store was taking in £30 million a year and was the second most profitable store in the Marks & Spencer empire. “I was told that I had the right attitude, that I wouldn’t offend anyone there. It helped that I was Scottish. “It was the only store I’ve been where at we had to close the doors to stop more customers coming in because it had become a safety hazard. We had to throw stock over people’s heads to reach the girls at the counter because the crowds were so deep.” The threat of imminent danger just became part of daily life, always expected, almost routine. “There were bomb scares left, right and centre. We all had panic buttons by our beds and I would lie in my bed at night hearing bombs going off. “But the people there never panicked. If we were told to close the store customers would just put down their baskets and leave their trolleys. We’d have to put the stuff back on the shelves and the customers would come back in and do it all over again. “But nothing was ever stolen. The people in Belfast were great – in spite of everything that was going on – they were wonderful people. I think I was the only one to work in that store not to have married a local girl!” Charles spent three years in Belfast, the longest he’d served in any of the M&S stores, before being moved to Glasgow. “It was a lot like Belfast but without the bombs and the bullets.” Opportunity It was while in the city that Charles broke his ties with Marks & Spencer when he was head hunted by WH Smith. Working as an operations manager and responsible for opening up stores throughout London, the south east and south west, it was a new opportunity that he simply could not turn down. He was then head hunted again by the Dartington Hall Trust which ran the renowned Cider Press Centre in Devon, one of the UK’s most popular visitor attractions. It was a huge undertaking. The centre had 14 speciality shops selling high quality products ranging from fine glassware and ceramics to arts and crafts as well as three restaurants on the site. But it proved an invaluable learning ground and helped pave the way for the House of Beauly. Charles returned home to Inverness in 1990 to help his parents run their boutique and set up his own business consultancy using his wide retail experience. Although the store is now at home in the House of Beauly, Charles stresses that it will always be his parents’ business. “The business is really an institution and very much mum and dad’s.” Since opening its doors in 2006, the House of Beauly has been a huge success. Charles admitted it was a gamble to take on such a venture particularly as it was his own business, his own risk, but it was one of those rare moments in a career that you know you must grab with both hands. Having the support of his six children – Christopher, Nicholas, Janina, Max, Benjamin and Oliver and wife Julia was also an important factor. “I saw the decline of the city centre and the opportunity came up in Beauly to do something very special. Beauly is what makes this place work. The village is wonderful and unspoilt. You can drink the water here, breathe the air and the food is world-beating. “The standard had to be excellent but after Dartington I knew I could do it and it has been a dream to fill.” The icing on the cake this year was the award for Britain’s Best Visitor Attraction gift shop which saw House of Beauly beat London’s Victoria and Albert Museum as well as Dartington Cider Press Centre to scoop the prestigious accolade. However, Charles believes credit for the success of the business lies with his staff. “Managers are not on the front line but their staff are and it is them that make a place work. Wherever I’ve been and however bad the reputation of the place has been I’ve always managed to make it work. “If you believe in and support your staff, they will look after you.” |
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